(A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display panel apparatus, and more specifically, to a display panel apparatus having an improved circuit board connection structure.
(B) Description of Related Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCD) have many advantages such as thin profile, light weight, low power consumption and low radiation, and therefore are widely used in current display applications. An LCD display primarily includes an LCD panel and a back light unit. The back light unit serves as an illumination source to the LCD panel, and the rotations of the liquid crystals are controlled by electrical signals so as to display images.
An LCD panel includes a display panel and a circuit board placed at a side of the display panel, and a flexible printed circuit (FPC) connects the display panel and the circuit board as a signal transmission interface. Generally, the circuit board and the display panel are not on the same plane. Rather, they are arranged perpendicular to each other. Therefore, the FPC is curved when the FPC connects the display panel and the circuit board.
For an LCD module with a back bezel, a printed circuit board is placed below the module and is secured by screws. This type of LCD module frequently suffers external impact during assembly and transportation, and if the FPC is not secured by screws it cannot withstand the external force. As a result, the FPC on the liquid crystal glass may be peeled from the printed circuit board during handling. Such PFC peeling causes an abnormal image display.
In summary, the panel may be deformed during assembly or mechanism testing. The bending of the panel pulls the FPC, and thus stress concentration occurs on the FPC and on the soldering connection between the FPC and the circuit board. When the stress exceeds a threshold, the FPC will be peeled or broken, resulting in degraded signal transmission.